Defiance Review - Gametactics

MMOs are a dime a dozen these days it seems. While many a WoW clone has risen and been cast aside, the challengers have moved on to a different means of attack, such as licensing big franchises like Star Wars or going free to play. Fewer still have actually decided to actually change things up from the gameplay end. For those who remember the ill-fated Tabula Rasa, a sci fi third person shooter isn’t completely virgin territory for the genre. But Defiance’s increased focus on the action elements and borrowing from a formula that’s worked on a less massively online level at least gives it a chance to catch on with a console audience that hasn’t necessarily been catered to yet. Oh yeah, and it also has the gimmick of being associated with a SyFy television series, with the promise of “transmedia” crossovers between the two, so there’s a still a gimmick. It’s still a bit early for a final verdict, but the various things Trion Worlds tries to pull off at once make for a game with noteworthy potential but mostly unremarkable execution. Time will tell whether it is looked upon as fondly as their first MMO, Rift.
(Defiance, PC)
6/10